


It's a date (I had no clue)

by DragonK



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Bromance to Romance, Ficlet, First Date, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, M/M, One Shot, Slight Misunderstanding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2016-04-03
Packaged: 2018-05-31 00:33:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6448321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonK/pseuds/DragonK
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for a fun challenge on tumblr, an april fools day 'fandom bodyswap' - writers drew art, artists made fics, and I got inspired! One-shot ficlet.</p><p>Tony and Steve are friends. Steve loves Tony and doesn't know that Tony loves Steve too.  There's some insecurity and obliviousness and some confusion discussed on a packed subway train.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's a date (I had no clue)

               They’re on a train that’s packed tight, when Steve suddenly has a bit of an epiphany- wait a moment. To properly explain the significance of this epiphany, I really have to go backwards first:

        Tony Stark is a grad student at a small but heavily-populated university, one which Steve Rogers, a visual arts bfa student, also attends. Tony could probably tell you all about the statistical chance of the two of them meeting and becoming friends in a school like their’s, where there are a hell of a lot of people, and he’d probably say something that amounts to ‘it was a very small chance’.

       Nevertheless, one semester found them enrolling in the same course and sitting next to each other. Often, in my experience, people tend to become at least friendly if not outright friends with the people they sit next to. Tony and Steve… well, initially they didn’t actually get along. Somewhere along the lines, though, bickering became banter and vague irritation became friendship. They should totally thank their professor for pairing them together on that project, because it wasn’t until then that they really made that step to being friendly.

       The two quickly found that not only could working together lead to better understanding of the work and better grades, but they also got along swimmingly. And the rest, as we say, is history. Well, alright, there’s more to it than that. They became class-friends, and from there became true friends, spent time hanging out around campus or off-campus together, they became friends with each other’s friends, and worried about their friendship surviving the end of that class. They needn’t have worried, because it did.

       And then there was the whole debacle with choosing classes for the upcoming semester- I’ll summarize it by saying that they each tried to suggest classes to the other so they’d end up in the same ones, and then it turned out they each picked the ones the other suggested, and didn’t share a single one. And if that couldn’t rock the boat, you’d think they’d realize nothing could. A year and a half down the line, best bros for life, Steve and Tony started falling in love. Of course the dim-wits wouldn’t believe the other feels the same way. That brings us to the events about to unfold.

 

                                                                                           * * *

       See, Steve, eventually, decides that he isn’t going to waste time pining anymore. Because you know what, he loves Tony, and he needs to try and take the plunge. Worst case scenario, he loses a friend – but Tony’s not like that. He’s still friends with Pepper Potts, who he dated for a long time before they broke up. Tony won’t throw away a friendship because one party’s romantic feelings aren’t requited.

       So he concludes that Tony’s not going to be the one to make the first move if he is interested - Tony has never asked out someone he’s friends with, they’ve always been the ones to do so. Best example is Pepper, again, but not the only example. No, when Tony asks people out, they’re always people he barely knows, but he definitely like-liked Pepper before they started dating. Basically, Steve decides, it’s up to him to be the brave one and ask Tony out.

       And he means to… but he keeps losing his nerve every time there’s a good opportunity. And trying to figure out when and how to ask Tony on a date means Steve’s head is up in the clouds, not down on Earth. Well, we can blame this on the creative Zone, not his pining, I suppose, if we want to be factual about this.

       Tuesday afternoon, as he sets up his canvas facing towards the windows, back to the door, Steve texts Tony: ‘I’ll be in painting studio today, come hang out?’ He knows Tony’s done with classes for the day, so he probably will. Sure enough, the phone buzzes a few minutes later with a response. Time passes, and at some point after Steve’s lost himself in working on his painting, Tony wanders into the room with a cheerful greeting that Steve absentmindedly replies to. The studio is empty but for Steve and his piece and his portfolio, and Tony sets down his things on a nearby chair before coming over, leaning gently on Steve;s left shoulder, and watching his friend work for a moment.

       “Uh, hey, Steve?”

       “Mhm?”

       “Would you want to go to the Guggenheim tomorrow, and then maybe go to the cafe nearby afterwards for lunch?” Tony asks. Something pings in the back of Steve’s brain, but he’s too focused. He knows he doesn’t have anything on Wednesdays, and Tony’s just got a morning session.

       “Hm? Sure.” 

       Tony’s quiet for a while after that, but when Steve packs away his paints and carefully locks up the artwork, his friend bounces up and starts chatting away about time and trains and Steve shakes off the vague worry.

 

                                                                                           * * *  
  
       Steve bobs with the movement of the train and casually glances at the illuminated diagram of the stops over the heads of the other passengers. Tony leans into his side. He’s actually holding onto his arm because there’s no pole that he can reach - Tony’s only 3 inches shorter than Steve, but it’s enough to make reaching for the handhold difficult. Either that or Tony wanted to hold onto his arm, Steve thinks. And then he retraces his mental steps, notices something else, and freezes.

      “Wait.” Steve says suddenly. Tony looks up at him, curious.   
      “Is this supposed to be a date?” Steve blurts, looking at Tony, whose eyes have gone wide. There’s a pause, and now they’re both aware that the people nearest them are watching now.

      “Yes,” Tony admits after a moment, just loud enough to be heard. Shit.

      “Dammit,” Steve says, and then immediately regrets it, because the droop to Tony’s shoulders and the way he won’t meet his eyes anymore aren’t even necessary for Steve to know that his words have been taken the wrong way. He knows Tony, knows how he’d interpret that kind of response.

      “Wait, no, not like that, just-  _I_ was going to ask _you_ out! And then you asked me and I had no idea!” Steve continues hastily, trying not to stumble over the words in his hurry.

      “Yeah?” Tony looks up at him hesitantly, “You were really- You’re not just humoring me?” He asks, and Steve huffs, nudging Tony with his elbow just a little. 

      “I wouldn’t do that, you know me. And - I’ve wanted to ask you out for _weeks_ now.” He says, and then promptly blushes. Tony beams, though, which makes it worth it, before the hesitation returns to his expression.

      “That’s- great. Uhm. This…can this still be a date? I mean, I know it was a bit of a surprise and you didn’t agree believing it was a date so-”

      “I’d love for this to be our first date, Tony. I’m the one that was oblivious, after all, it’s not like you misled me, I was so in my own head that I didn’t realize, but now that I have I want it to be a date too.” Steve interrupts, smiling fondly. Tony blinks at him for a moment before his shoulders drop in a gesture of relief, and he grins again.

      “Oh, okay. Good. So, where do you want to go first once we get there?” Tony’s hand slips into Steve’s. It’s a good Wednesday in the city.

**END**

 

**Author's Note:**

> Not necessary information, but if anyone reading this is curious and/or read it first on my blog:
> 
> Originally when I wrote this, it was with the idea that tony was an interior design student instead of or in addition to being an engineer, and that this came into play in the formation of their friendship - the class they shared was originally a graphic design course, they each initially had opposed views of things and didn't get along because assumptions etc, and then they work together on an assignment which results in a) realizing they work really well together and help each other understand the subject/assignment better than they did apart, and b)aren't as opposed as they thought and find they get along amazingly well and enjoy each other's company. It was also slightly relevant to their equal enjoyment of/interest in the Guggenheim museum and the reason Tony picks it for the date.
> 
> Because I ended up summarizing this part of the story rather than going into it, since I didn't want the fic to end up a sprawling, unfinished work in progress again, I felt that I had to cut out the mention of Tony as an interior design student. It ended up feeling like it didn't have any obvious relevance to the plot of the fic as it is, and it's not mentioned again after that point at the beginning. However, if in future I decide to write a fic expanding the summarized portions (not only the beginning of their friendship but also the 'debacle' with the following semester), I'll probably bring that detail of Tony's field of study back, and it's why I left that open in this story. 
> 
> Some additional notes:  
> 1) if it's not clear and you were wondering, the story takes place in new york city. The train in question is most likely the 6 (frequently packed, goes to the Guggenheim I believe).  
> 2) this fic may be continued at some point, thus the somewhat open ending.  
> 3) hope no-one minds the chatty narrator, I've been reading Russian lit (translated to english) for a class and there's a lot of skaz/chatty/narrators :)


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